Yearly Archives: 2008

Antidote du Jour 8/10/08

The real purposes of a democratic society …

A post by Jim Fitch of Some Assembly Required. The real purposes of a democratic society cannotbe achieved by violence and destruction. George Kennan. Balance Sheet: The housing market continues to deteriorate. Unemployment is rising. National retailers are seeking Chapter 11. The economy is slowing, if not in recession. Auto sales are non-existent. Americans have […]

Fight the Fed, Don’t Fight the Fed, Baby

I followed a rather circuitous, unorthodox route to the little corner of Wall Street I occupy, so I don’t really know what goes on in all those big, glass-walled buildings that turns eager, bright-eyed young graduates of the finest schools into cynical, herd-following, careerists. But I imagine that early in orientation an avuncular veteran of […]

Antidote du Jour 8/9/08

Americans want cheap fuel….

This post is by Jim Fitch of Some Assembly Required. Americans want cheap fuel, no matter what it costs. Sign Here: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley. The Usual Suspects. Now they want to take over all the pension funds. With Uncle Sam’s help, blessing, and taxpayer backing. Sort of a consolation prize for not getting their […]

Summary of the FSA Investigation in HBOS Trading

Slow on the draw, I missed the Aug 1 release of FSA’s Investigation into accusations that HBOS was torpedoed by hedge funds spreading malicious rumours. If you missed it too, FT-Alphaville has the detail here, but I’ll save you the trouble and summarize it for you below. 10. Something went seriously wrong in the market […]

Your pension is safe on Wall Street

Defined-benefit pension plans are famously a headache for the many firms that, once upon a time, offered them. Managing far-future liabilities related to employee career choices and life spans is far outside the core competence of nonfinancial firms. Pensions accounting is its own little universe, just like nightmares are. So doesn’t it make sense to […]

Antidote du Jour 8/8/08

The Value of Capital vs. The Value of Management

There is an interesting tug-o-war between the value of capital and the value of management evident in hedge funds, but even more strikingly highlighted perhaps in reinsurance. This is worthy of examination if only for the fact that they sit at opposite ends of the proverbial rope, producing (at present) an unimaginably large gulf between […]

Examination of public debate…..

This post is by Jim Fitch of Some Assembly Required. Examination of public debate in the USreveals little but childishness. The New Sub-Prime: FirstFed, 4th largest LA based bank, reports that 40% of its mortgages are at least 30 day delinquent, after ARM mortgages reset. These are mainly ‘payment option mortgages’ and the debtors are […]

Too much risk?

One of the more depressing bits of emerging conventional wisdom is the notion that the financial system took on “too much risk” in recent years. I think it is equally accurate to suggest that the financial system took on too little risk. Consider the risks that were not taken during the recent credit and “investment” […]

Leverage (not what you think)

I’m talking platform leverage – the sort of leverage you can get in a proxy battle by putting a page like this in front of millions of people, many of whom may in fact own your stock, the week before the meeting, for free: Or, the leverage in media you can get by interjecting a […]

Antidote du Jour 8/7/08

Links of the Day 8/6/08

Now we’ve hit crisis proportions!Hobbit Crisis: The Shire in Foreclosure Citi may be the first to cut a deal with the states over auction-rate securities. Could others follow? And how much will the ultimate settlement be?Citi Talks With Regulators May Bring Billions in Buybacks In case your dog died, your wife left you, and your […]

Futures vs CDSs: the case for regulated markets

In less than a month, NYMEX crude oil futures have dropped about 15% in value. Other commodities ranging from precious metals to agriculture have had significant drops as well. Even for the traditionally volatile commodity markets, this is somewhat unusual and has led many people to scratch their heads to figure out what’s happening. Is […]